New Russian Stamps on Wild Goats and Rams

Russia post issued new fauna stamps on 30th January 2013 dedicated to wild goats and rams found in the Russian territory. The stamps depict the argali (Ovis ammon), the wild goat (Capra aegagrus), the West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica), and the snow sheep (Ovis nivicola).

The largest representative of wild goats is argali, whose length is 120-200 cm, height at the withers 90-120 cm, weight 65-180 kg.

.The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.

In the wild, goats live in herds of up to 500 individuals; males are solitary. Female goats go through a period called estrus, when they are ready to reproduce. Collectively for males and females, this means they are in a period of the breeding cycle called rut, when they are ready to mate.The West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica) is a mountain-dwelling goat-antelope found only in the western half of the Caucasus mountain range.The snow sheep (Ovis nivicola), or Siberian bighorn sheep, is a species of sheep, which comes from the mountainous areas in the northeast of Siberia.

One subspecies, the Putorana Snow Sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis) lives isolated from the other forms in the Putoran mountains. The snow sheep is related to the North American Bighorn Sheep and Dall’s Sheep, and some zoologists consider it a subspecies of this sheep.